ARMY HQs ISSUES LETTER TO CLARIFY CORRECT USE OF TERM 'RETD'

Despite being pointedly out repeatedly, the incorrect usage of the term 'retd' persists within the veterans community as well in the civilian hierarchy. The media too has joined the band wagon and the term 'retd' is increasingly used after the rank of the officer while it should be used after the name and decorations, if any, of the officer.

The American use of the term seems to have been caught the fancy of those who make the incorrect use of the term. Now, the Army HQs has stepped in and the Directorate General of Staff Duties has now issued a letter on July 24, 2014 stressing on the correct use of the term.

The letter correctly points out that the rank given by the President is not only for life but after life too and this is a rare privilege accorded to the officers of the military.

A copy of the letter is attached with this blog and this must be disseminated widely so that the 'babus' and the ignorant, in or out of military service, too realise how to use the term correctly.

WHY THE DELAY IN ANNOUNCING RESULTS OF PROMOTION BOARDS FOR RANKS OF LT GEN AND MAJ GEN?

The Army’s promotion board results for the ranks of Major General and Lt General have been inexplicably delayed which may result in many deserving officers losing their chance to get promoted and many may retire in their present rank itself.

The Army had conducted a selection board for the promotion of Major Generals to Lt Generals in April this year. It is learnt that there are around 17 vacancies for the rank of Lt Gen in the Command and Staff streams. As many as 65 Major Generals were considered for these vacancies.

According to sources in Army HQs, the Military Secretary’s branch had completed the formalities at the Army’s end and forwarded the board results to the Ministry of Defence in May itself. After the MoD gives the nod, the appointments are then put up to the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet for the final approval following which the promotion board results are de-c classified and the officers are promoted as per their seniority and merit.

These officers who will be cleared in this promotion board results will be cleared to pick up appointments in the Command as well as Staff Stream as per their merit. Those approved for Command stream will go on to command a Corps while the others will be posted to staff appointments in Army HQs or static formations like GOC of an Area, Chief of Staff of a Command  or a staff appointment in Army HQs.

Normally the promotion board results are out within a period of two months. However, since the board results have been delayed by at least a month and, sources say, are not likely to be cleared within the next one month too, many officers stand to lose their chance at promotion because their date of retirement is approaching. Thus even if they are approved by the promotion board, they will not be able to pick up their rank.

The predicament is also acute for many officers who may not be able to command a corps despite having been approved in the Command Stream. This is because an officer needs to have a residual service of at least three years on the day the board results are declared in order to get the appointment of a General Officer Commanding of a Corps.

In fact, this is not the only category of officers affected by delay in announcement of promotion board results. Sources say the promotion board results of Brigadier to Major General rank have also been delayed.

In this instance, the board was held in the first week of May this year. There were 45 vacancies of Major Generals for which 125 Brigadiers were considered. Here again many officers will retire from service if the MoD does not de-classify the results soon.

Sources in MoD say that while the initial delay in declaring the results was because of the general elections and the wait for a new government to take over, the present delay is unexpected

Needless to say that many officers lower down in the merit for the rank of Major General and Lt General will immensely benefit if those in higher order of merit either retire from service or are over-age for some key appointments.

Sources inform that several officers are now planning to approach the Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal in New Delhi to seek legal remedy and to force the MS Branch of the Army HQs and the Ministry of Defence to get speedily on this issue.

  

FOR HONOUR, A RIBBON AND A BIRTH CERTIFICATE

On May 16, 1996 Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda shot himself dead. He was then serving as the Chief of Naval Operations of the US Navy. He joined the US Navy as an enlisted sailor and was the first to rise to this high rank. Admiral Boorda killed himself to spare his service further ignominy when a investigation carried out by the Newsweek magazine found that he was wearing certain decorations on his uniform which he was not entitled to wear. The investigation by a journalist, David Hackworth, revealed that Admiral Boorda was wearing two Combat Distinguishing Devices on the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal service ribbons on his uniform and that he was not entitled to wear them. The Admiral killed himself fearing more adverse publicity for his Navy. He could have waited for official inquiries to exonerate him but he did not do so. He knew what he had done. Accused of an illegal act, he took what seemed to him as a honourable way out.

On February 26, 2014, Admiral DK Joshi, Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy resigned after a spate of accidents hit the navy causing damage to a large number of surface and submarine vessels. There has been plenty of adverse publicity in the media following these accidents and the fear that more lives had been lost in the immediate accident turned out to be the last straw for him. Admiral Joshi could well have taken the other route for this controversy. He could have sacked some fairly senior Naval officers for their failure to exercise adequate control over their fleet. But Admiral Joshi chose to take blame like a Captain of a ship. Like Admiral Boorda, he too felt that his honour was at stake. And while there are debates raging on the culpability of the bureaucrats and politicians, he has left his service proud as indeed left his reputation unsullied.

One cannot but help compared the acts of these two honourable men with what re-course a former Indian Army Chief of Army Staff took when faced by an alleged act of illegality committed against him. Gen VK Singh had been aggrieved fairly early in his career by what he found to be an incorrect appreciation of his date of birth. He correctly represented against the anomaly as he understood it to be and asked for redressal. He did not get any. Ultimately, having achieved a fairly senior rank and finding himself to be well on his way to the highest rank and appointment, he acquiesced. Till be because the Chief of Army Staff.

And then he represented again to the government. A highly debatable act at that high level of seniority, yet he did so. And once again his representation was turned down. Now here was his chance to take the honourable way. If he believed himself to be correct, he should have immediately resigned and shown his commitment for what he believed to be right. But no, he went on to challenge the government in the Supreme Court which led many to conclude that he was running after ten extra months in service.

I cannot interpret this in any different manner but that Gen VK Singh missed the chance to be known as a trailblazer for posterity in the Indian Army. Just as General Thimayya, for all his brilliant qualities, is still remembered more for having withdrawn his resignation under pressure from Nehru, Gen VK Singh, for all his sterling qualities, will also be remembered for having taken his government to court as the Chief of Army Staff.

Men in uniform are synonymous with men of honour. Till they prove it otherwise. Admiral Joshi has proven that he is a man of honour. He has foregone 17 more months in service. He may have been criticized for his handling of the spate of accidents but his final act as the Navy Chief deserves our salute.

Fare Winds and a Following Sea,  Admiral.

AVAILABILITY OF CONDOMS

The first reaction may be to read and laugh. But the issue is much more complex than it appears on surface.
On one plane it is just an example of military bureaucracy which is often not very different from the civilian bureaucracy.

However, in the present instance, the authority issuing condoms to units wants to make sure that it knows the number of "eligible couples" who have been issued and also the number of condoms "utilised" during the month along with the number left in balance.

Now this should be very tricky information for the recipients to divulge, to say the least. And also it is quite unfathomable why this largesse of distributing condoms should only be limited to "couples". Why not to every person who asks for them? Are there questions of morality which are afflicted the medical authorities who are responsible for distributing condoms? Should they not be more worried about the practice of safe sex and avoiding sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS even if it means distributing them to the average single Officer/JCO/Jawan serving in the unit? Or is the job only to prevent unwanted pregnancies?

No doubts ethics and morality are issues which are evolving in the society at large and the military is just a reflection of that society. But even in the open society issues of protection against sexually transmitted diseases has transcended the blinkered views reflected in this communication given above.

Change can take place within the military if there are open discussions within the military and the will to move forward. This is 2014 not 1944. It is high time the powers-that-be take immediate steps to bring in the change.

THE GENERAL'S DIET PREFERENCES

In some respects our services are still living in a colonial era with much of their ethos dating back to that period. While there is nothing wrong with retaining some good factors of that period, there is certainly no need to behave like our erstwhile lords and masters used to do in the pre-Independence days.

Unfortunately, today's blog brings out yet another aberration in the system wherein the 'system' has become such that each senior officer blindly emulates what other senior officers have been doing, particularly those who preceded, with the cumulative effect that many of their doings not only look incongruous to the present day rank and file, but they also look positively ridiculous.

In the present instance we have a letter which has been circulated to the subsidiary units of a formation in order to inform them of the diet preferences of the General Officer Commanding lest he visits their unit and they have to host him.

Take a look at the minute manner in which each of his preferences have been spelled out. Right from what he would like for breakfast to the type of 'Dal' he prefers (Arhar, Chana, Dhuli Masoor, Dhuli Moong, Sabut Masoor) and the manner in which his tomatoes must be cooked (without the skin).

To an outsider it looks nothing short of a joke, but rest assured, all this is quite normal in the olive green world. However, questions have now begun to be raised over such inane stuff being put forth to cater to the whims and fancies of senior officers. Let us further examine what the General Officer likes to consume.

The AAG who has sent off the letter further amplifies that under no conditions is coriander to be used in cooking and that the General is quite partial to chicken tikka and chicken seekh kabab as snacks. These snacks he presumably enjoys when he is having a taste of Napolean brandy, Vat 69 or Teachers. However, during official briefings he restricts his like to "assorted biscuits" and tea.

Not a frugal eater, he also likes to have a dish of chicken or fish during lunch and dinner along with the routine dal, vegetables, salad, chapati, rice etc.

The letter also specifies that these are just basic guidelines which have to be adhered and for anything specific the Staff Officer to the GOC can be contacted.

What day and age are we living in? Can we not move forward and focus on our job at hand? Even if such ambiguities had crept into the system is it not possible to do away with them and keep up with the times?
The other day I wrote on the hilarious Santa orders. I received a tirade in return. Some of it, which was publishable, has been published in response to that blog. Getting brickbats for telling the truth is not a problem. Closing our eyes to stupidity is.
Wake up and smell the Green Label tea, er, I mean coffee. Before it is too late.

OLIVE GREEN CHRISTMAS

The above three excerpts of letters detailing officers, men and units for the Christmas functions at two different Army formations have been doing the rounds in the social media the entire day today. No one knows for sure how they came to be floating on the internet but some attribute it to a cross-section which does not like Christmas/Santa Claus duties or has some different views on how Christmas should be celebrated in the Army.

One of the letter pertains to an Armoured Division while the other is ostensibly of a Mountain Division. There is no need to reproduce what they say as they are sufficiently legible and can be read in their present form.

My first reaction to these letters detailing Christmas duties among various units was that of amusement as this is how things are done in any military station when a major festival comes along and has to be celebrated in common. Every unit gets a piece of the responsibility and the task is fairly divided among all. This is how it has been done over the years.  However, some of the remarks which have accompanied these letters in the social media, ostensibly by young serving officers, make it very clear that my views are not shared by the multitude.

It appears that some have taken offence to the fact that in one of the instructions, a Young Officer of a particular regiment has been asked to be detailed to dress up as Santa Claus to distribute gifts among children. While it appears to be a delightful task, especially since it involves children, it has not appealed to several who may have played an instrumental role that such orders end up on social media.

Be that as it may, the fact which must be discerned from this episode is that the speed with which information not appreciated by certain quarters is getting disseminated in outside world. Also, the rank and file also seem to be having reservations about performing such tasks, whether in individual capacity, or, as a unit.

There are pros and cons which have to be discussed internally by the Army and these leaks are only a sign of times. The times are certainly changing and the pulse of the organisation must be felt at regular intervals to ascertain their views on such programmes. If need be, there is no harm in outsourcing several functions in order to keep uniformed men out of them. Given the fact that such functions have a positive effect on the general morale of the environment and it is with this aim that these are held and conducted in the first place, there may also be a need to sensitise the participating units so that misunderstandings about the task at hand do not crop up.

This is a changing Army. With more aspirations, more finesse and much better calibre. It should not get reduced to a farcical exchange of comments on social media which damage its ethos and honour. And the onus of ensuring this rests with the senior officers.

WHY IS THE ARMY HIDING ITS 'POLO BUSINESS' BEHIND A FIG LEAF?

Today's blog is about a shocking lack of transparency, seemingly deliberate, involving one of the premier Regiments of the Indian Army, 61 Cavalry and its association with Army Polo and Riding Club and Indian Polo Association. This continuing opaqueness about the functioning of these organisations raises questions of morality and ethics and has been continuing unchecked right under the nose of the top brass of the Army. It primarily concerns the activities of the Army Polo and Riding Club (APRC) which is utilizing all facilities of the Army without having any legal sanction and without its accounts ever coming under the scrutiny of the the Defence accounts Department.

To begin with, the APRC is neither registered as a society nor as a company but it is functioning since 1995 as an unregistered body under the control of the Indian Army. The Chief of Army Staff was the President of this Club till May 2013. After that Quarter Master General of the Indian Army is the President of this Club. This change in the leadership occurred on the basis of the application filed under RTI Act 2005 to CPIO of Indian Army to know the status of the Army Polo and Riding Club. In response to the RTI Application, CPIO informed that Army Polo and Riding Club is not a Public Authority, so no information can be given regarding the functioning of the Army Polo and Riding Club. 

This reply, thus, makes it clear that despite enjoying all the facilities of the Army and having senior Army officers as its office bearers, the APRC has been deliberately kept outside the purview of a public authority. This raises serious questions about the motive to keep it out of the ambit of public scrutiny.

However, the Army’s reply regarding APRC not being a public body may not stand legal scrutiny. Consider this-To begin with APRC is located in the premises of the ‘B’ Squadron of 61 Cavalry of Indian Army and a serving Colonel of the 61 Cavalry, its Commandant, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Army Polo and Riding Club. The sources and resources of the Indian Army are fully used for the functioning of the APRC.

The APRC organizes polo season every year from October 15 to December 8. Interestingly, the Club allows team whose players are playing members of the Indian Polo Association (IPA) through a Club or Associations affiliated to IPA. IPA itself is presently not a recognized sports body by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The matches are played at the Army Equestrian Centre in Delhi Cantonment, which is located in an area allotted to Army by Defence Estates. The matches are held at Jaipur Polo Ground in Delhi Cantonment which is given on lease By the Ministry of Poverty and Urban Development to Indan Polo Association on long lease. Despite this clear use of Army resources, the Army claims in its RTI reply that the APRC is not a public authority which flies in the face of the definition of public authority under the RTI Act 2005.

Not only Indian but even foreign teams are permitted to participate in the polo matches organised by the APRC. The club is not exclusively for personnel of Indian Army but also have civilians and foreigners as its member. For a civilian to be the member of the Army Polo and Riding Club he has to purchase an Admission form (price printed on the form is Rupees 50/-) but it is given for Rupees 150/. The membership fees per person is Rs 50,000. How and under which rule civilians are made the members and how their admission and monthly subscription is decided, no one is aware about it. The basic issue concerning the membership of APRC is whether the Army, being a government body, can allow membership to civilians and foreigners.

The APRC also takes sponsorship from corporate houses for organizing polo matches. The sponsorship amount is in lakhs for different matches. The prominent sponsors of this year are Yes Bank, Royal Salute of Chivas Brother, Jack Daniels and they have given the contract to Equisports Management Private Limited for getting the sponsorships for polo matches. Equisports management is also managed by some members of APRC. There is no independent audit of the funds collected for the sponsorships and all audit is through an internal auditor of the APRC.

Needless to say, the counting procedures are in gross contravention to orders, thus undermining the image of the Services.

The intertwined relationship of the APRC and the IPA can be gauged from the fact that the Commandant of the 61 Cavalry, Colonel Navjot Singh Sandhu, is also the Honorary Secretary of the Indian Polo Association (IPA). The IPA is a society registered as a ‘welfare body’ and not as a sports association under Section 20 of Societies and Registration Act 1860. Legal experts say there is no provision for a sports body to be registered under the Section 20 of Societies and Registration Act 1860.

IPA itself is not recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Affairs which is the main body looking after sports in India. The fund collected by IPA are used for the overseas visits of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and other senior members of the Indian Polo Association and Army Polo And Riding Club. During the year 2010-2011 as per the balance sheet of the IPA, Rs 18 Lacs were spent on the visit of then COAS to Argentina. It is also surprising that though IPA and APRC is responsible for the promotion of Equestrian sports and they have not been to able to train any individual or team for Asian or Olympics meet.

Interestingly, there is another organization in the name of Army Equestrian Centre, fully controlled by the Indian Army and an Army Establishment operating from the Defence lands and public funds to the tune of Rs 11,85,3000 have been  allocated to it by the Army headquarters. It conducts training and tournaments for Army Polo players and provides venue for the IPA events.  This organization provides venue/infrastructure facilities/polo grounds for the IPA and APRC events and it is directly under the control of Quarter Master General’s Branch of the Indian Army. The access to civilians is permitted for the events of IPA. Foreigners can use these facilities under special permission of the Army authorities.

IPA collects funds as subscription fees from members, clubs and spends money as per the liking of Honorary Secretary and Army Polo and Riding Club get sponsorships for IPA for polo matches and other events. All this leaves enough funds at the discretion of Honorary Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, who in the present case is the Commanding Officer of the 61 Cavalry.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports generally gives grants to the different Sports Federation of India and in its order dated 21 April, 2010, it directed all sports bodies to bring transparency in the functioning of Sports Federation by appointing Public Information Officer for RTI Act, failing which no grants will be given. Amazingly, IPA refused to follow the transparency and did not appoint a PIO without caring for the grants and had refused to take any grants since 2010. It might be argued that the IPA chose not to receive grants in order to avoid appointing a PIO under the RTI Act.

All the above facts make it clear and an independent and fair probe is needed into the activities of the APRC and the IPA in order to ascertain how Army facilities are being blatantly used without any transparency at all. It also needs to be inquired whether there is any complicity of the higher brass of the Army in order to ensure that the dealings of APRC and IPA remain opaque and they are kept out of the purview of the RTI Act for this purpose.

Given the fact that senior Army officers are involved in the dealings with both these organizations, it will augur well for the Service to order a probe immediately on the role of its own officers in these organizations.